The wonders of octane!

Comments

1. RHPZero says:

   6/18/2008 at 1:41 pm

   Actually, electric utilities would love it if electric cars became more popular for technical as well as revenue reasons. In general, such vehicles would charge at night, increasing the demand for electricity at a time when it traditionally goes down significantly. The variations in demand are one of the harder things to manage in the electrical network, so something that would provide a stable, load balancing effect would actually be very helpful.

   If we go “even greener” there have been suggestions that a large number of electric cars would actually serve as a battery for the electric network allowing more intermittent generators like wind and solar to become feasible.

   As to cost, well, it’s pretty low for electric cars if you do them right. Here’s a guy who’s getting the equivalent of 108 mpg (based on $4/gal gas) out of his electric Porsche 914: http://volt914.blogspot.com/.

   Now, do I want a Prius or something that’ll do 0 to 60 in under 5 seconds, the quarter mile in 13.8 seconds, about 100 mile range, and is fun to drive? Lemme see, fun car, cheap, better mileage AND a good used Suburban for long drives — or spend more on a Prius that’ll make me look good in the eyes of a bunch of dorky environmentalists. Tough decision, huh?
2. Chris says:

   6/19/2008 at 9:27 pm

   Wow, I like it. However, I wonder what the real cost of this machine is. Additionally, here is a guy who knows it all. He understands every bolt on his vehicle. If he didn’t, I wonder how much he would have to pay someone who did. I think this is an anomaly in that this gentleman knows and understands transportation. He states 13.8 miles on .50 cents worth of electricity. What is the cost to get to the point where you can obtain that? For most of us in Hudson who commute, even to St. Paul, this would not be an option. Show me where on Ebay, or AutoZone where I can find the batteries needed for a vehicle like this. Where do I get the parts, the know how, etc…. If you lived in an urban area this may be an alternative, but how many urbanites have the coin to afford this luxury. They’re better off buying the old used vehicle cheaply, not having to insure it with full coverage, and almost be on the borderline of selling the car for junk if it goes bad. They could buy dozens of used vehicles like this for the cost of that one electric. Imagine what their contribution to re-cycling would be!

   My 2 cents.
3. RHPZero says:

   6/23/2008 at 10:34 am

   The batteries aren’t anything fancy, just golf cart batteries. 18 of them.

   The kit to do the conversion is roughly $15K for the performance version of the kit (google Voltsporsche to find the kit this particular guy used). There’s a fair number of these 914s converted to electric, many using cheaper kits with lower specs.

   The kit used claimed a 150 mile range. You need more than that to commute to St. Paul? What part of Hudson are you in? I work past MSP and my commute is less than 70 miles round trip.

   I agree on the used vehicle comment, though. There’s a reason I still drive a “gas hog” even with my commute. It’s paid for and insurance doesn’t cost much. If I go “green” it’ll take a long time to pay off. Don’t tell my wife, though. I’m still lobbying for a motorcycle “to cut gas costs” *cough* *cough*

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